Australia summons Israeli envoy over IDF decision not to probe 2024 killing of aid workers

The World Central Kitchen and Australian officials on Wednesday condemned the Israel Defense Forces' decision not to open a criminal investigation into the April 2024 strike in Deir al-Balah that killed seven aid workers, including an Australian citizen, after the military said it had completed reviews of several high-profile "exceptional operational incidents" in Gaza.

In the incident in question, the IDF fired at World Central Kitchen (WCK) vehicles during a humanitarian aid operation in Gaza in April 2024, killing seven workers.

The army said IDF personnel tried unsuccessfully to contact WCK during the roughly half-hour the convoy was tracked on the assumption that Hamas operatives were inside.

Following an initial review, two officers were dismissed and three senior commanders reprimanded. The army said that despite "failures" in assessing that Hamas operatives were in the vehicles, the commanders' decisions "did not cross the criminal threshold." It concluded there were no grounds for a criminal investigation or further measures.

Following the announcement, Australia summoned Israel's ambassador Hillel Newman over the Israeli military's decision. Australian citizen Zomi Frankcom was among the victims of the strike.

"This decision falls far short of the accountability we expect," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said, adding that Australia was ⁠outraged by the decision.

"Democracies seek, and accept higher standards. The Australian government will not stop pressing Israel for justice for Zomi and her colleagues."

In her statement, Wong said she had told Australia's envoy in Israel to convey its views directly to the Israeli government as Canberra considers its next steps.

The investigation had concluded there was no criminal liability for the soldiers involved ‌in the ⁠attack, said Hillel Newman, Israel's ambassador to Australia, although there had been operational failures by the Israeli military.

"It was a mistake, in retrospect, but the findings of the court are that there was no criminal intention, no intention to hit at aid workers, and therefore no criminal responsibility," Newman told ⁠reporters in Canberra after meeting Wong.

Newman said the aid workers' convoy deviated from a pre-approved route and may have carried armed personnel, leading the Israeli military to believe it had been taken over by ⁠militant group Hamas.

According to Australia's ABC network, Newman also expressed "deep sorrow" for Frankcom's family.

"I would just like to tell them, straightforward, we grieve with you, we are very sorry for the circumstances that brought about this death. Any innocent life is a tragedy," Newman said.

In a statement released by the World Central Kitchen organization after the IDF announcement, it said: "We strongly condemn the Israeli military prosecutor's account of the deaths of our seven colleagues on April 1, 2024. And we fundamentally disagree with their decision about criminal investigations into the IDF airstrikes that killed our team."

The organization added that "There has never been any excuse or justification for the attacks, and there is nothing in this account that does so. The decision is inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive."

According to the organization's statement, at the time of the lethal attacks, "the IDF knew that our team in Gaza was unarmed and posing a threat to nobody. It had full visual clarity on our clearly marked humanitarian vehicles during the extended, multiple airstrikes. It knew our team's movements, identities, and activities in advance."

The organization said that the military investigation "conflates different timelines and events, muddies the story and shifts the blame for the IDF's illegal conduct."

The World Central Kitchen immediately filed a complaint with the IDF after the incident, and demanded the army stop the fire toward its staff, and guarantee their safety when distributing food in the Gaza Strip, which is carried out with full coordination. The IDF did not comment on the organization's inquiry about that incident at the time.